Passenger side airbag modules are normally positioned behind the instrument panel of a motor vehicle. The module comprises a reaction canister which houses a cylindrical inflator and a folded airbag. A breakaway portion of the instrument panel forms the cover of the airbag module. Upon inflation, the airbag rapidly expands, breaking away the module cover portion of the instrument panel to provide a protective cushion for the passenger.
It is customary to provide some type of tether on the module cover to prevent it from flying into the vehicle. Because of flexibility and availability of material, it would be desirable to employ fabric tethers for these applications. However, this has created problems in the past due to the fact that the end of the tether secured to the reaction canister has a finite number of attachment points. The attachment points might be, for example, rivets. Point loading at the attachment points tends to cause the fabric tether to fail. The problem has been to provide a tether with adequate strength to withstand the force of propelling the cover.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a fabric tether restraint wherein the force of deployment is evenly spread along the tether width. Other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.